Thursday, 12 December 2013

A little late-coming {I got horribly distracted with Christmas shopping}, but it's time for the delicious second half of this gorgeous wedding. Groom Adam set his bride the challenge of incorporating his football team, Manchester United, into their wedding. Laura managed it with aplomb, creating an incredible 3D table plan, complete with real grass. The red of their shirts proved a slight problem, as it didn't quite fit in with their cream, elegant wedding colour palette, but Adam compromised with cream shirts in the main dining room! There's plenty more stealworthy ideas to snaffle from the pictures - not least the personalised stamp made by BerinMade stationers. Laura used it to brand all their wedding stationery, and to create salt dough heart ornaments. Laura's mum even borrowed it to hand-stamp biscuits, in case any of the guests got peckish on the bus to the reception venue. I'm a huge fan of Laura's antique sapphire and diamond engagement ring as well! Huge thanks to Laura for filling in all her answers to the Before the Big Day Questionnaire, and to Lissa Alexandra Photography for her fantastic pictures. I've never seen such a fantastic array of wedding portrait shots!

We celebrated our wedding on Saturday 10th August, with a ceremony at St Mary’s Church in Nun Monkton near York, followed by a reception at The Old Deanery, Ripon.

Our wedding photographer was Lissa Alexandra Photography. Shortly after our engagement, I went to a wedding fair, and I fell instantly in love with her photography style. I knew I had to have her from that moment. I think she was the first thing I booked once our date was confirmed.

Wednesday, 11 December 2013

Ice-cream van? Check! Quirky character cars? Check! Fabulous vintage bus? Check! As you can tell, this gorgeous wedding has tonnes of simply fabulous details - many of them with four wheels, and a vintage personality! Laura and Adam were keen to host a classic, elegant wedding, which reflected them as a couple, without having too obvious a theme. Pinks and greens are the dominant colours, and there's definitely a vintage hint to many of the details. I've fallen for Laura's Audrey Hepburn inspired wedding outfit, and her stunning David Austin rose bouquet. Throw in the pretty-as-a-picture church, and historic venue near York, and I'm sold! Enjoy all the gorgeous pictures by Lissa Alexandra Photography - she captured every detail perfectly, and make sure you unashamedly steal Laura's wedding ideas from her answers to Before the Big Day Bride's Questionnaire! More from the reception published later today.

We celebrated our wedding on Saturday 10th August, with a ceremony at St Mary’s Church in Nun Monkton near York, followed by a reception at The Old Deanery, Ripon.

I wanted a venue which was a blank canvas and suited me. Bold green patterned carpets and massive drapes like you get in a traditional castle or stately home venue, just wouldn’t cut it. I chose The Old Deanery for its dark wooden floor boards and cream panelled walls.

Wednesday, 25 September 2013

There's tonnes of fantastic wedding inspiration in this gorgeous spring wedding. Ruth and Mark chose an on-trend jewel colour palette of navy blue, hot pink and purple for their wedding theme, and carried it through all their wedding details. The bridesmaids' dresses, the flowers, the cake - even the DIY'd table stationery, all match perfectly. It's the wedding planner effect without a wedding planner!! DIY brides will find Ruth's efforts hugely inspiring - she even made her own FIVE tier wedding cake - and it couldn't look more professional if it tried. With favours made my Ruth's brother-in-law, marquee-style letters made by her Dad, and a ring-pillow made my her mum, this really was a family project. Enjoy the gorgeous pictures by Matt and Sarah-Jane Ethan. I love the modern-style portrait shots!

We chose Matt and Sarah-Jane Ethan as our wedding photographers. They stood out to us on our search. They totally “got” what we wanted from our photographs which was informal and relaxed. Also your wedding photographer is with you most of the day, so I think it is important to get on with them, and we really did!

I came across a navy blue, pink and purple look, and I loved the contrast of the colours together. It looked very modern, and I was keen for our wedding to feel modern as well as classic.

There's an ethereal element to these beautiful wedding pictures by Matt and Sarah-Jane Ethan. Every one feels like a magical moment, and I'm not sure whether my edit has done them justice. Suffice to say, Ruth and Mark's wedding was a stunning affair. Ruth chose a colour palette of navy-blue, pink and purple as her wedding theme, and picked out navy-blue for her bridesmaids, hot pink for the ushers' ties, and a mixture of all three for her wedding flowers. The carefully coordinated colours create a very put-together look, and I love the colour pop against her white wedding gown. My other loves include their incredible wedding venue of Wynyard Hall, the cute diamante initials on the back of Ruth's shoes, and Ruth's elegant Mori Lee wedding gown. Huge thanks to Sarah-Jane and Matt for their beautiful wedding photographs - don't miss the fantastic wedding reception shots later today.

We celebrated our wedding at Wynyard Hall in Cleveland on 26th May 2013.

I came across a navy blue, pink and purple look, and I loved the contrast of the colours together. It looked very modern, and I was keen for our wedding to feel modern as well as classic.

Monday, 27 May 2013

If you're not getting married in a church, but you want to walk up an aisle, then you might want to consider an altar-equivalent. There's a huge wedding trend for so-called 'backdrops' in the USA, and it's winging its way over the Atlantic to hit our shores this summer. Ribbons, bunting, flowers, paper chains, balloons, blackboards and vintage door-frames, they've all been used to create a focal point for the marriage ceremony, but the latest {and greatest} idea are these origami diamonds. Designed and handmade by French Knot Studios, they're fabulously neon, and the perfect addition to any contemporary themed wedding. Check out more wedding altar and backdrop ideas on my Pinterest page.

Monday, 18 March 2013

For some brides, the frothy feminine style of a traditional wedding leaves them cold. Instead they choose a sophisticated theme for their wedding day, with maybe a short, chic wedding dress, and an urban venue. Gorgeous bride, Kate, plumped for the latter, picking a modern look for her wedding day, with a lovely layer of vintage glamour. Her lace covered wedding dress is the Zarita from Diane von Fuerstenberg, and works perfectly with her birdcage veil and red lipstick. Her sunshine yellow shoes perfectly match her colourful bouquet, creating a very 'put together' look - the type I can only dream of recreating! Lukas and Kate chose the Zurich Courthouse in Switzerland for their wedding venue, and hosted their reception in stylish cafe, with the lovely Andrea Kuehnis on hand to take their wedding pictures. Don't you love their style?

Monday, 24 September 2012

*I just love these!* I've already featured Kikichoo's badges as an idea for wedding favours, but these cupcake couples are perfect for the wedding party. At £1 each, they're a lot cheaper than floral buttonholes, and come in cute pairs and different colours, so you can match up your bridesmaids and ushers. It's one way to drop hints about who you think should get together on the dancefloor!

Sunday, 19 August 2012

So many brides have commented and emailed about my last Ikea wedding inspiration post, that I thought it only fair I found even more fabulous details for you! Inspired by the wedding of Swedish Crown Princess Victoria {back in 2010}, Ikea partnered with stylist Lo Bjurulf and photographer Denise Grünstein to create a stunning wedding theme. This one is called "Paper & Fold" and it fits in perfectly with this season's wedding trend for DIY weddings, origami and natural tones. Fabulous wedding inspiration for brides looking for a modern, fresh look, without blowing the budget.

Friday, 25 May 2012

My favourite weddings are those where the bride and groom really stamp their sense of style on the day, and this couple are seriously hip! Just take a look at Priyanka's fabulous wedding day look; her strong make-up, red lipstick, chandelier earrings, full-skirted wedding dress and pretty up-do. Chris wasn't going to be left behind - I'm loving his sharp three-piece suit and stripe monochrome bowtie, plus Ray Bans. Other stealworthy ideas include the four-leaf clovers in the buttonholes, the wild orange table flowers and the vintage lace wrapped bottles. So many perfect wedding details! Huge thanks to Our Labour of Love for their beautiful pictures.

Updated daily & brimming with wedding ideas and inspiration, Before the Big Day is the best wedding blog for couples looking to make their big day stand out from the crowd. With 100's of real weddings, fantastic wedding theme ideas, unique DIY wedding projects & all the hottest trends, it’s the best UK wedding blog for the inspired bride.